Despite the world of the Picts being so far away in time, there was one man who reached back and ‘touched’ their minds with a language they shared… Art. (1300
Category: Ancient Sacred Sites
“Ain’t this a mess, Sheriff?”“Ain’t this a mess, Sheriff?”
In the film ‘No Country for Old Men’, there’s a famous opening scene at the site of a drugs shoot-out. Everyone’s dead when the local Sheriff and his deputy arrive
Two journeys, one destination (7) – Rosemarkie, The Black IsleTwo journeys, one destination (7) – Rosemarkie, The Black Isle
Our final visit of the Saturday was to Rosemarkie, a beautiful village on the Black Isle, whose seafront looks south across the vastness of the Moray Firth. Rosemarkie was also
Interlude ~ Hidden Avebury?Interlude ~ Hidden Avebury?
There was a lot we would have liked to have done and seen as we paid our flying visit to Avebury that day. We could have visited all the places
Two journeys, one destination (6) – a Pictish horizonTwo journeys, one destination (6) – a Pictish horizon
With the wonderful Portmahomack behind us, it was time to meet the three Pictish stones that marked the horizon line of the Tarbat Peninsula. These would originally have been visible
Two journeys, one destination (5) – blood and stoneTwo journeys, one destination (5) – blood and stone
Writing without the other hand to steady him was hard, but the other was clamped on his thigh, holding back the flow of blood. The words on the vellum were
Two journeys, one destination (4) – two sides of the hillTwo journeys, one destination (4) – two sides of the hill
On the second day of the Silent Eye’s ‘Pictish Trail’ weekend, we are beginning in what is, for me, one of the most beautiful places in the world. Portmahomack is
Two journeys, one destination (3) – the mysterious PictsTwo journeys, one destination (3) – the mysterious Picts
‘The Romans were frightened of them…” I remember reading that the week before our Scottish workshop and being astonished. I knew the Picts had created some of the most mysterious
Two journeys, one destination (2) – InvernessTwo journeys, one destination (2) – Inverness
It begins in Inverness, that beautiful confluence of water, road and mountain. Like any journey through northern Scotland, it will be dominated by water… The year 2020 will be etched
The Flickering PresentThe Flickering Present
I’ve taken a lot of photographs during the past ten years, but none of them like the one above. Taken at Castlerigg Stone Circle, near Keswick, in December 2018, it
Whitby Weekend: The Crypt at LastinghamWhitby Weekend: The Crypt at Lastingham
A few of us made our way down the stone steps of St Mary’s in Lastingham, into the crypt where the bones of St Cedd are reputedly buried. To do
Whitby Weekend: The church at LastinghamWhitby Weekend: The church at Lastingham
It was only a few miles to the final destination of the Silent Eye’s weekend in North Yorkshire. We were heading for St Mary’s church at Lastingham, the final resting
A Prospect of Whitby (3) Touching the SunA Prospect of Whitby (3) Touching the Sun
There’s something ‘monumental’ about planning to be high on the vast moorlands of the North Yorkshire National Park at the end of the first week in December. Yet that is
The Moment that TeachesThe Moment that Teaches
Most people who venture into the mystical encounter it before too long – that momentary sense of the world dropping away and an intense silence taking centre stage. In that
A Prospect of Whitby (2) Steps in TimeA Prospect of Whitby (2) Steps in Time
Good food is everywhere in Whitby. Even with our Collie dog in tow, we were able to find a wonderful and furry-friendly tearoom – Sherlocks in Flowergate. Forty minutes later
A Prospect of Whitby (1) The Abbey at the centre of timeA Prospect of Whitby (1) The Abbey at the centre of time
The title’s cheeky… Bram Stoker created Count Dracula of Transylvania and had him come ashore at Whitby in a ship named The Prospect of Whitby. We’ll not be talking much
The 13th Moon of St CeddThe 13th Moon of St Cedd
He stopped at the door, knowing they were all inside. Waiting for him, waiting for his ability to listen, to gather, to make pointed the urgings, the reasoning, the demands,
Fear and Love in the High Peak – (2) “I want a posset!”Fear and Love in the High Peak – (2) “I want a posset!”
The first visit of the Silent Eye ‘Rites of Passage: Seeing Beyond Fear’ weekend was to the Derbyshire village of Eyam (pronounced Eem) – The Plague Village. Our family has
Fear and Love in the High Peak – part oneFear and Love in the High Peak – part one
It’s not the best of photo resolutions, but the above image says it all. Briony saluting the Derbyshire landscape in her own way at the end of three days of
Hidden Avebury: Seeking the UnseenHidden Avebury: Seeking the Unseen
Almost everyone knows of Avebury, the great stone circle within which a village was built. A World Heritage site and one of the most incredible sacred complexes of prehistory, it
Only a Horse and a SwordOnly a Horse and a Sword
We become habitual in our thinking. It’s a good idea (and fun) to play little games with our mind to help us look at things differently. One of these is
Three days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 5) – Stone in the SkyThree days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 5) – Stone in the Sky
You can’t miss Sueno’s stone. It sits on its own plateau, just off the old main road between Findhorn and Forres; now bypassed. You see its ‘hangar’ first, then realise
Three days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 4) – Sea and StoneThree days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 4) – Sea and Stone
I didn’t want to leave Burghead, not even for Findhorn; a place I’d wanted to visit for a long time. Burghead had filled me (many of us, I think) with
Three days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 3) – A Pictish HeadlandThree days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 3) – A Pictish Headland
The Moray Firth is vast, wild and beautiful. Examined on a map it resembles a child’s geometry exercise in triangles, with the coast between its ‘origin’ at Inverness and far-away